Sunday, March 31, 2013

Under the Never Sky

This month at the YA Blogger Book Club hosted by Readers in Wonderland we read Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi.
There were four discussions including spoilers with questions every week about the chapters read.
The wrap up is on Mar 28, there will be a linky with the reviews @ Readers in Wonderland.

Aria is a teenager in the enclosed city of Reverie. Like all Dwellers, she spends her time with friends in virtual environments, called Realms, accessed through an eyepiece called a Smarteye. Aria enjoys the Realms and the easy life in Reverie. When she is forced out of the pod for a crime she did not commit, she believes her death is imminent. The outside world is known as The Death Shop, with danger in every direction.
As an Outsider, Perry has always known hunger, vicious predators, and violent energy storms from the swirling electrified atmosphere called the Aether. A bit of an outcast even among his hunting tribe, Perry withstands these daily tests with his exceptional abilities, as he is gifted with powerful senses that enable him to scent danger, food and even human emotions.

I wasn't hooked from the beginning, there were several chapters were I felt like I was reading because I had to. I missed so many details because I just wasn't paying much attention. I'm still not sure why it happened, since I felt the same way with another book I was reading at the same time. After the second discussion I was more interested in the story and the characters. I started liking them and paying more attention, enjoying their adventure and wondering what would happen.

The world Veronica made in this book is very interesting with new and futuristic ideas. There were some parts that reminded me of Wall-E.

I've said it before but I love when books have more than one POV; seeing both perspectives helps us understand a little more about both sides in this world. Both characters have different personalities, I liked the male character more because he was tough and sweet at the same time, though I think I'd relate more to the female character.

We have a little paranormal but not so much in a magical way, I would see this as more of a DNA alteration due to the changes in the atmosphere. We meet interesting characters with different 'gifts' each with a special purpose.

We have the ideal setting, people living without a care in the world dependent on technology and their government, but unprepared for unexpected circumstances that might need survival abilities.
This made me think, do we believe everything our government tells us and are we not well prepared for drastic changes that might come unannounced?

Though we get to see more of one world, we get glimpses of the more sophisticated one. Still, there were some things that never got an explanation, I still have so many questions about their world. I don't know if we'll get to see more about it on the second book.

Favorite parts:"She fit in well then, he thought. A girl who never shut up.""Perry nodded absently, imagining a world without fear. Was that possible> If there was no fear, how could there be comfort? Or courage?"Are you serious?"
"You've asked me that before. Do you Dwellers only joke?" I thought this was so funny! I always ask this, it's my first response before saying something else.

I wasn't hooked in the beginning either, I was actually really confused. The two POVs really made this book, I enjoyed Perry's POV a lot more than Aria's so without him, I think I would have really hated this book simply because I didn't care for Aria. Thanks for participating this month!